November 16, 2018 - Over the years, we've written quite a few articles on tax identity theft. In a typical scenario, this happens when criminals get their hands on someone's social security number and other personally identifiable information (PII) and then they file a false tax return, using a false address. By the time the victim files a legitimate tax return, the criminal is long gone and the victim finds himself having to prove to the IRS that he is a victim. It creates a horrible scenario for victims and it can take months to resolve.

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But what happens when the criminal who's stealing the information actually works for the IRS? That's a scenario that most people have never considered. But this week, a former IRS employee was sentenced to 2 years in prison for aggravated identity theft. Her job meant that she had no trouble accessing the PII of as many potential victims as she wanted to.

Stephanie Parker worked for the IRS out of their Atlanta office. She has now pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft. According to the Justice Department from late 2012 to early 2013 Parker accessed and used the PII of at least five people. She used their data to file false tax returns in the victims' names and then had the money from those fraudulent returns wired directly into bank account of people she knew. On at least one occasion she accessed that money and used it.

The original indictment against Parker included additional charges including wire fraud; a separate crime.

Parker has now been sentenced to 2 years in prison and another year of supervised release. She also has to pay restitution of $6,000.

This is literally a case of the IRS robbing people blind. 

byJim Malmberg

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